Sunday 8th & Monday 9th June

The (long) journey home…

Our long awaited Italy trip finally came to an end today. We had breakfast at 8am, re-packed our suitcases and, at 10am, checked out of Hotel Dina and made our way to our coach ready for the ride to aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci at Fiumicino, Roma.

When we arrived at the airport, the check-in line was absolutely massive! We waited in line for at least an hour, maybe more!! Once checked-in and at the departure gate, most of us went and bought a few snacks for the long flight home.

We boarded the plane and settled into our seats only to hear that our flight had been delayed. There was a problem with air traffic control in Greece so our plane had to remain grounded because air traffic control in Rome was dealing with all flights from Athens and Rome. The time frame of our delay was uncertain at first but we were told there would be a delay of 45 minutes. Then, after about an hour and a half, the captain notified us there would be a further delay of one and a half hours. So, in total we sat on a grounded aircraft for a whopping 3 hours!!!!!!!!! No, this is NOT a typo people, we had to sit on a plane headed for nowhere for 3 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally, at around 5pm (Italy time) we began our 12-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur. Will we make our connections in Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne? – doubtful!

Back at home in Hobart safe and sound now and while the plane was held for us in KL we did not make our connection in Melbourne, missing the last plane for Hobart. We therefore headed to the Travel Inn at Tullamarine for the night but only for a short sleep as it was a 4am wake up call in order to make the 6.10am flight out of Melbourne the next day.

Ciao ciao

Tanita and Megan O.

Saturday 7th June

VERONA – ROME ….. ‘Are we there yet?’

Today after breakfast we checked out and left our bags at the hotel, then strolled down to the city of Verona to view its famous and ancient monuments, one being the Arena, which is much like the colosseum but is actually still in use today for opera seasons and other events.

Against our will we were forced to pass through the main shopping drag of Verona, without even time to drool, in order for us to visit Juliet Capulet’s house and balcony. Many of us were very surprised as we always assumed that the balcony was huge and deluxe but soon found that it was only one step out from her room, and only about the width of a door. We all posed for photos on the balcony.

After this we did some more sight seeing, and went to see the main river and bridge of Verona, and of course yet another church, the Duomo of Verona. Unfortunately we had to admire this church from the outside seeing there was a service on and the priest probably wouldn’t have appreciated a large group just visiting during mass.

We then found ourselves a restaurant for lunch, to eat the last meal of our choice in Italy. Many, or just Megan Crichton and Eliza decided to go out in style and treat themselves to a rather gourmet lunch which included a fragola frappe and a tuna and onion pizza.

We arrived back at our hotel at around 1:30 to pick up our bags and head down to the train station. It was here that we said goodbye to our basil-eating friend Daniela, who left us to extend her holiday in Italy with her family only after her dad and uncle left us with some beautiful Italian pastries and cherries to enjoy.

We began our leisurely walk down to the train station, which might have actually been leisurely if we didn’t have to carry our suitcases and it wasn’t a 2km walk! I don’t think anyone can recall how many times we asked the dreaded question ‘are we there yet?’

The train trip went for 5 hours, which everyone agreed went rather quickly, but not so smoothly….. Medical personnel were asked to identify themselves, and in Prato we had an unplanned stop where we were met by ambulances to treat a passenger. Luckily the passenger was ok and was able to continue with the journey.

We arrived in Rome at about 8:30pm and were escorted to our hotel by our kind friend Sarah. After settling in for our final night in Rome we walked down to a restaurant for tea. After our meal the teachers reminded us that it was our last night in Italy and thanked us for being so good and cooperative throughout the trip, we returned the compliment, with Lonnie thanking the teachers on behalf of all of the students.

At about 11:00pm most of us fell into bed to prepare our selves for the long and exhausting plane flight ahead of us and tried to forget that the trip that we had been so anxiously waiting for, had come and gone so quickly.

Arrivederci Roma

Victoria, Eliza and Paige.

Friday 6th June

Ciao Ciao

Day 14 began with yet another departure from another hotel but this time we had to lug our extremely overweight suitcases onto a ferry ahhh…at least we didn’t attempt tackling the stairs again!!! We jumped onto the bus at exactly 9am leaving cloudy Venice behind with our sights set for Gardaland.
After an hour and a half of Ipods, Nutella, sleeping and watching trucks pass by we arrived at our much-anticipated destination… along with what seemed like an enormous car park absolutely full of buses. Thanks to a group booking we didn’t have to wait to get tickets for very long and so we split up into smaller groups and ventured into the theme park, having already chosen exactly which ride we would test out first.
Gardaland wasn’t as packed as we’d first assumed and so getting onto rides was quite easy. There was a huge variety to choose from including roller coasters, water rides (we advise to not sit in the front row if you prefer to not get totally drenched!), 4D animation theatres, merry-go-rounds, shows, safari adventures and many more adrenaline pumping tummy turners. Everyone enjoyed the thrills of their choice including Mrs Maver who joined Lonnnie on the biggest roller coaster in the whole park!!!
Unfortunately my prediction of 35°C weather with showers clearing in the early morning was incorrect and at about 1.30 rain absolutely pelted down. Still, as the rain eased we were able to continue our day.
Venturing off once again for more thrill seeking we tended to find that the water rides weren’t the only ones that enhanced our wetness but by this stage we were pretty much all over caring and it was all about the fun fun fun!!! After many highly unattractive photos which almost every time captured us all purely terrified, we headed back to shelter as the rain broke out once again. The canteen benefited greatly from the surge in hot chip sales amongst our group and after a little feed we boarded the bus to leave Gardaland behind.
Our arrival in our luxurious 3 star hotel in Verona half an hour later caused smiles all round as everyone couldn’t wait to get out of damp clothes and into a nice hot shower. We met at 8.30pm for a late tea and then all headed off to bed after another tiring but definitely fun day!

Arriverderci

Sally + Ella Mac

Thursday 5th June

Ciao!!! Come state? Siamo molto bene!!!

Today we woke up to our third day in Venezia and had breakfast at 8am downstairs in our hotel. We left the hotel at 8.40am in the pouring rain (covered by umbrellas and bright ponchos) and walked down the street to the nearby ferry station.

We then caught the ferry to Torcello where we walked down a little path, past picturesque houses and restaurants to a very old church called "Santa Maria Assunta", which is celebrating its 1000^th birthday on Sunday June 8^th. There were a lot of mosquitos and a lot of stray but friendly cats. We then caught another ferry to the island of Burano.

Burano is famous for is lace, and we saw first hand how it was made. We were shown the different stages of lace making and told about the different masters that do different sections of the work. We then proceeded to look around the shop and some of us even bought items. We were then let loose in the streets of Burano to find lunch and stroll around the quaint town. It was full of brightly coloured houses slotted together and built up to the side of the canal. It was a lovely sight. As in Torcello, there were many mosquitos and stray cats… but we all covered ourselves in Aeroguard and we survived. We departed Burano and ferried across to Murano for the afternoon.

Murano is of course famous for its glass work. We wandered the streets in groups and many of us did a bit of shopping. The range of glass work was amazing, from necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, to glass animals, vases, cups, plates, mirrors… the list is endless!! After re-meeting with the group we caught the ferry back to our local stop Ferrovia. The ferry rides throughout the day were very long and a lot of us fell asleep, for some there are photos to prove it!! But the long rides were definitely worth it as we saw some amazing things on the three islands of Torcello, Burano and Murano.

After arriving back to the main part of Venice we went to the hotel to freshen up and rest our tired feet before dinner and many of us managed to get in some last minute present shopping!!!! We again had dinner at the nearby restaurant ‘Brek’.

It was a very good day even if it rained on and off, we enjoyed sharing umbrellas and standing out in our ponchos! …and we are all very excited as we look forward to tomorrow…

Ciao ciao

Kat and Dani!

Wednesday 4th June

Id like to be out on the sea or on a gondola in Venice

Today we woke to our first day in Venice. OMG the beds and pilows were like rocks!!!! so uncomfy!!! We met our tour guide Alberto at the San Marco. He took us around the piazza and explained about the buildings and how the Basilica is the oldest building in Venice. On the way we checked out a few shops. (Our fashion tip is gold sandals which are going to be in this summer.) We went on the main bridge (out of a total of 400in Venice) the Rialto bridge, and took lots of photos. We went inside the Basilica and saw the amazing gold mosaic ceilings (sorry we weren’t allowed to take photos so you will have to visit Venice to see it for yourself or google it!)

We then saw a glass blowing demonstration, which was absolutely amazing! Kelsey took some video of it if you want to see what its like. The man made a glass Ferrari horse in just a couple of minutes! Glass blowing is a trade that is passed on from father to son, and it takes ten years to be a glass blowing master. Then we had a ride on a gondola (which for most of us was our first time!) and it was sooo much fun, except when we got to the Grand Canal which was a bit scary because all the other boats were bigger and had motors so they were speeding past us. Some of the gondola drivers were a bit ...... well you know, funny is putting it lightly.

After this we went SHOPPING (for 4 hours!!) and had lunch. Everybody bought lots of things, including Murano glass! Lets hope it doesn’t break on the way home! We walked back to the hotel and our feet were killing us as usual!!! We freshened up before going out to dinner at the Ristorante Brek. After dinner we had a gelato, soo yummy, and had a look in some shops until it started to get a bit dark.

Our Italy trip is more than half way through but we continue to have heaps of fun. Keep visiting our blog to read more about our exciting trip.

This blog was brought to you by the GoogleBloggers: Emilia, Teresa and Kelsey

There will sadly be no more editions to the blog from us. Hope you enjoyed reading!!!

Tuesday 3rd June

Hello beloved friends and family!

We are in Venice and it is marvellous

We checked out of the hotel early in the morning and jumped on the bus to travel to Venice via Bologna. After our two-hour bus drive we arrived in Bologna to meet Mrs.Maver’s Italian friend who gave us a tour around the city. First, we visited the main piazza and saw the King Neptune’s fountain. From here we toured the main basilica, which was once meant to be made the biggest one in Italy, even larger than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This did not end up happening, however, due to lack of funds and other buildings that were constructed in the area.

After this we visited the famous four corners, situated in the piazza. Here you can communicate with other people by whispering into the corner and people standing at the other corners can hear you and reply. After briefly visiting another church we found a gelataria!

We walked through the streets of Bologna observing the local food markets and stores and then we found a nice self-serve restaurant where we could all buy some lunch. Most of us got our first taste of the famous spaghetti bolognese that originated in Bologna. Mathilde, Mrs Maver’s ex exchange student from Italy, met us after lunch and showed us more of the city. We went to the library, which had glass floors to enable visitors to view a newly discovered historic site underneath the building. The ruins date back to before Christ and were discovered after the library was reconstructed.

From here we walked to the town hall where we climbed the original stairs of the building which were specially constructed to allow horses to use them. By 3.00pm we were back on the bus and began our journey to Venice.

The bus dropped us off at the furthest point possible as no cars are allowed into the city of Venice. This meant we had to wheel our big, fat and heavy suitcases to our hotel, a trip that included many stairs and bridges. This was quite funny and many tourists and locals found this amusing as we pushed and pulled our luggage up and over the stairs. Our hotel is extremely nice and very close to the Grand Canal. By now we were all very hungry but before going out to dinner we all caught a water taxi to have a look at the Piazza San Marco.

Everyone was amazed at the city and loved the atmosphere of the canals as boats and gondolas made their way past us. At the piazza the pigeons were attracted to us and liked to sit on our arms, (or in Ms Forsyth’s case – her hair!) Finally we headed back to the self serve restaurant, Brek, and had a yummy dinner before going back to the hotel to rest our very tried bodies.

Ciao Ciao Ciao

(From three of the Hobartian backpackers, Ella, Megan and Katie.)

Monday 2nd June

“I’m going to be sick!” (Quote from Megan at the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa)

Today was an early start. Everyone was looking very tired at our 7 am breakfast. We arrived at the station around about 8am to catch the train to Pisa. We weren’t quiet sure what the weather was meant to be like so we were prepared for anything. When we arrived at Lucca we all hopped off the train thinking we had to catch a different train to Pisa……., but we didn’t, so we all ran back to the original train hoping it wouldn’t leave without us.

When we finally arrived in Pisa after an hour and a half trip we had to wake up some sleeping people and then we all hopped off the train and walked towards the piazza where the famous leaning tower of Pisa stood. The first thing we noticed was that the piazza was full of people, and then we remembered that it was a public holiday in Italy. The day is known as “Festa della Repubblica” where Italy celebrates the day they became a republic. It’s a bit like our Australia day and there were police, military men, nurses, firemen and other people all taking part in a parade.

Mrs Giana made sure everyone knew where the meeting point was and made it clear that if we weren’t at the gate to the tower at 12.20 then the people wouldn’t let us up the tower…… but luckily we all arrived on time. Then it was time to take some photos. It was funny seeing so many tourists lined up along the fences pretending to hold up the tower…. But we all had to try it! People moved their hands up and down sideways and crossways just so they were perfectly on the tower. Unfortunately just before we climbed the tower it started to rain.

On the dot of 12.20pm we were lined up and ready to go. As we climbed the stairs, we soon discovered that it was impossible not to lean against the wall because of the “lean” of the tower. We all had to be extra careful as the stairs were a bit slippery both from the rain and because the stairs were so worn out they started to have a dip in them. When we reached the top the view was AMAZING. You could see all of Pisa and out into the surrounding countryside. Some people were a bit scared because of the height so they left quickly while others wanted to stay forever e.g Lonnie and Maddy.

Once we left the tower everyone’s legs felt like jelly. We collected our bags and then it was time for SHHOOPPPPINNG! After everyone had emptied out their wallets and tried to bargain with the stubborn Pisa shopkeepers we all headed for the train. On the trip back to Prato some of our group were very tired and a few even fell asleep, while others were entertained by people on the train.

When we returned to our hotel, everyone went to their room to rest and then at 7.00pm we regrouped for tea! Today was definitely GREAT and climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa fulfilled most dreams!

Until next time.. Maddy and LonnieSee you in 7 days!